The Decay of Lying

Allusions consist of references to artistic works, historical figures, events, myths, and so on that are external to the text, and this essay is rife with them. Wilde layers the text with allusions from all reaches of the humanities and time. Given that this is an essay on art, Wilde uses allusions to support his assertions of what constitutes good art and what constitutes bad art through examples. The breadth of allusions also serves to underscore Wilde’s authority as a critic of the arts by illustrating his deep knowledge and establishing ethos with the reader. Oftentimes, Wilde creates chains of allusions within a single sentence or paragraph to draw parallels between works that may otherwise seem dissimilar due to differences in genre, period, or form, such as the links he makes between Shakespeare, English melodrama, and decorative arts such as modern tapestries.

Wilde often employs juxtaposition—or the placement of different things near or next to each other in a text—to emphasize the contrasts between what he is describing. This serves to further underline his points and render the differences between what he conceives of as good and bad art more apparent by amplifying the negative and exalting the positive.